The Great Salamander Pandemic, Part 3: On the Hunt

Reporter Benji Jones and wildlife disease ecologist with U.S. Geological Survey, Daniel Grear, join this third episode to discuss the hunt for Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) in North America, which Benji has described as “searching for a needle in a haystack except the needle is invisible and the hay stretches for thousands of miles.”

Host, Mike DiGirolamo, talks with Jones and Grear about the search, the difficulty in finding it, and what we can expect if the disease ever makes its way to U.S. shores.

For the next several episodes, this season of Mongabay Explores (made possible by our Patreon supporters) will dive into this topic to learn what's known about this issue, now. 

More resources on this topic:

On the hunt for a silent salamander-killer
Scientists are racing to stop a pandemic before it starts – but will they find it in time? Super-spreaders: How the curious life of a newt could ignite a pandemic
Their susceptibility to Bsal coupled with their mobility mean eastern newts could act as “super-spreaders” of Bsal if the fungus gets to North America. Mongabay's whole series on 'Bsal' is here United States Bsal Task Force website

To hear Part 1 of this season, see, "Mongabay Explores the Great Salamander Pandemic, Part 1: Are we ready?" -- Part 2 discussed the amazing diversity of salamanders, "Why are salamanders so diverse in North America?"

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